The Diocese of Isernia-Venafro () is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Molise. It is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Campobasso-Boiano. In 1852 the historic diocese of Isernia was combined with the diocese of Venafro, to form the diocese of Isernia e Venafro."Diocese of Isernia-Venafro" Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David m. Cheney. Retrieved January 30, 2016"Diocese of Isernia-Venafro" GCatholic. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved January 30, 2016 The seat of the present bishop is Isernia Cathedral, while Venafro Cathedral has become a co-cathedral in the new diocese.
History
The epoch of Bishop Benedict of Isernia, and indeed his very existence, is without any documentary evidence at all. It is even claimed that he had predecessors, beginning with Poltinus, who was consecrated a bishop by Saint Peter the Apostle himself.Sannicola, in: D'Avino, p. 272. That the existence of the episcopal see in the fifth century is certain is likewise a doubtful proposition;Ughelli VI, p. 366. Kehr VIII, p. 242: "In antiqua hac Samnitum civitate iam olim episcopatus quin exstiterit dubium non est, etsi notitiae ante saec. X de episcopis servatae minima fide dignae sunt." each of the purported bishops has been assigned to other dioceses.Francesco Lanzoni (1927), Le diocesi d'Italia dalle origini al principio del secolo VII (an. 604), , (Faenza: F. Lega), p. 380: "un s. Benedetto; ma pienamente sconosciuto (cf. A(cta) S(anctorum), mai, I, 500). Seguono nel catalogo Ughelliano un Laurentius (401-17), un Eutodius (465), un Marias (499), un Innocentius (501-2) e un Sebastianus (595); ma tutti fuori di luogo. II primo è detto nel documenti (J-L, 318) « episcopus seniensis », probabilmente dell' Illirico; il secondo, il terzo e il quarto spettano a Tifernum (Città di Castello); e l'ultimo a Resinum nella Dalmazia (J-L, 1096; 1853). Cappelletti XX, pp. 128-129.
After the Lombard invasions, Isernia was the seat of a countship, founded by the Duke of Benevento. It was destroyed by the Saracens in the ninth century. In 847, the entire city of Isernia was destroyed by an earthquake, with great loss of life, including the bishop.: "Per questo parossismo Isernia fu quasi interamente distrutta con grande numero di vittime : presso il monastero di S. Vincenzo parecchie case furono rovinate." Cappelletti XX, p. 156.
On 5 May 964, the Lombard princes, Pandulfus and Landulfus, granted the town of Isernia with all its territories to Count Landulfus, at the plea of Bishop Ardericus. The grant recites the boundaries of the territory.Ughelli VI, pp. 594-595. Cappelletti XX, p. 156.
In 1199 it was sacked by Markward von Annweiler, the vicar of the deceased Emperor Henry VI. On 5 December 1456, another great earthquake caused heavy damage and deaths in the area of Isernia.Baratta, p. 70: "Isernia (Campobasso) — distrutta: morti 1200 circa;" p. 73: "Venafro (Campobasso) — fu grandemente danneggiato." In 1688, both cities were damaged, though apparently the greatest damage was the loss of the church of the Carmelites in Venafro.Baratta, p. 160. In 1805, Isernia was struck by a severe earthquake, which ruined the ancient cathedral.Baratta, p. 792.
In 1032 the Diocese of Venafro (The town was formerly the site of Roman country residences) was united to Isernia,Ughelli VI, p. 394: "...consecravimus praesulem eorum jam supradictum Gerardum confratrem nostrum gubernanei ac regendi praedicta Ecclesia cum omnibus suis ecclesiis, sive monasteriis infra eodem Comitatu Iserniensis, et Comitatyu Venafrano, et infra Comitatu BOjonensis, et in tota terra pertinentes monasterii S. Vincentii." Cappelletti XX, p. 157. and in 1230 it was again separated.
On 12 November 1192, the city of Venafro was sacked and burned by the German troops of the Emperor Henry VI, led by Duke Bertold. Bishop Gentile was forced to flee. He sought refuge in Aversa, whose leaders persuaded him to become their bishop.K. Hampl, "Der schlimme Bischof Gentilis von Aversa," Mitteilungen aus der Capuaner Briefsammlung, III, (Heidelberg: C. Winter, 1911) [Sitzungsberichte der Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften. 1911], p. 4. Kehr VIII, p. 240, no. 6, with note. The ecclesiastical leaders in Venafro and in Isernia immediately began to air various grievances against one another, which led to litigation. Numerous citations of the parties to appear before Cardinal Gerardo of S. Adriano, the judge whom Pope Celestine III had appointed, were ignored or put off to a later time. Exasperated, the cardinal authorized the chapter of the Cathedral at Venafro to proceed to elect their own bishop.Kehr VIII, p. 240, nos. 6 and 7. This would have taken place in 1193 and 1194. The Chapter elected Johannes de Abner, but when the pope heard that they had chosen someone who was not even in Holy Orders, he voided the election.Kehr VIII, p. 240, no. 8. Finally, in 1195, he confirmed one R[ - - -] as the new bishop of Venafro.Kehr VIII, p. 241, no. 9. The pope says explicitly that the strife had gone on for two years and more. Since the absence of a bishop at Isernia was causing great detriment, Pope Celestine appointed R., the bishop-elect of Venafro, to be the bishop of Isernia as well, ordering the Chapter to obey R. as if they had elected him themselves.Kehr VIII, p. 241, nos. 9, 10, 11.
Reorganization of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, 1818 Following the extinction of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy, the Congress of Vienna authorized the restoration of the Papal States and the Kingdom of The Two Sicilies (Naples). Since the French occupation had seen the abolition of many Church institutions in the Kingdom, as well as the confiscation of much Church property and resources, it was imperative that Pope Pius VII and King Ferdinand IV reach agreement on restoration and restitution.
A concordat was finally signed on 16 February 1818, and ratified by Pius VII on 25 February 1818. Ferdinand issued the concordat as a law on 21 March 1818.F. Torelli (1848), La chiave del concordato dell'anno 1818 I, second edition (Naples: Fibreno 1848), pp. 1-19. The right of the king to nominate the candidate for a vacant bishopric was recognized, as in the Concordat of 1741, subject to papal confirmation (preconisation).Torelli I, p. 9. On 27 June 1818, Pius VII issued the bull De Ulteriore, in which he reestablished the metropolitan archbishopric of Capua, and assigned as suffragan (subordinate) dioceses: Isernia, Calvi, Suessa, and Caserta. The diocese of Venafro was permanently suppressed, and united to the diocese of Isernia.Bulliarii Romani Continuatio Tomus 25 (Rome 1853), p. 58, § 11: "Ecclesia archiepiscopalis Capuanae suffraganeas habebit episcopales ecclesias Iserniensem, Calvensem, Suessanam, et Casertanam. Alteram vero episcopalem ecclesiam Theanensem Calvensi ecclesiae episcopali aeque principaliter perpetuo unimus. In perpetuum autem supprimentes episcopalem ecclesiam Venafrensem, eamdem cum sua civitate ac dioecesi unimus atque aggregamus episcopali ecclesiae Iserniensi"
On 18 June 1852, in the bull "Sollicitudinem Animarum", Pope Pius IX the arrangement was changed. The diocese of Isernia and the revived diocese of Venafro were to be under the governance of one single bishop, aeque personaliter, to be called the diocese of Isernia e Venafro.Collezione degli atti emanati dopo la pubblicazione del Concordato dell'anno 1818 Vol. 13 (Napoli: Stamp. dell'Iride, 1854), , pp. 42-66.
Post Vatican II changes
Following the Second Vatican Council, and in accordance with the norms laid out in the council's decree, Christus Dominus chapter 40,Christus Dominus 40. Therefore, in order to accomplish these aims this sacred synod decrees as follows: 1) The boundaries of ecclesiastical provinces are to be submitted to an early review and the rights and privileges of metropolitans are to be defined by new and suitable norms. 2) As a general rule all dioceses and other territorial divisions that are by law equivalent to dioceses should be attached to an ecclesiastical province. Therefore dioceses which are now directly subject to the Apostolic See and which are not united to any other are either to be brought together to form a new ecclesiastical province, if that be possible, or else attached to that province which is nearer or more convenient. They are to be made subject to the metropolitan jurisdiction of the bishop, in keeping with the norms of the common law. 3) Wherever advantageous, ecclesiastical provinces should be grouped into ecclesiastical regions for the structure of which juridical provision is to be made. Pope Paul VI ordered a reorganization of the ecclesiastical provinces in southern Italy. His decree "Ad Apicem Spiritualis" of 21 August 1976 created a new episcopal conference in the region called "Molise", to be called "Boianensis-Campobassensis", with the archdiocese of Boiano-Campobasso, formerly directly subject to the Holy See, to be the Metropolitan; its suffragans were to be the dioceses of Trivento, Isernia e Venafra, and Thermulae e Larino.The bull Ad Apicem Spiritualis , in: Acta Apostolicae Sedis 68 (1976), pp. 594-595. Pope Paul VI also ordered consultations among the members of the Congregation of Bishops in the Vatican Curia, the Italian Bishops Conference, and the various dioceses concerned, with regard to additional changes.
On 18 February 1984, the Vatican and the Italian State signed a new and revised concordat. Based on the revisions, a set of Normae was issued on 15 November 1984, which was accompanied in the next year, on 3 June 1985, by enabling legislation. According to the agreement, the practice of having one bishop govern two separate dioceses at the same time, aeque personaliter, was abolished. The Vatican continued consultations which had begun under Pope John XXIII for the merging of small dioceses, especially those with personnel and financial problems, into one combined diocese.
On 30 September 1986, Pope John Paul II ordered that the dioceses of Isernia and Venafro be merged into full union as one diocese with one bishop, with the Latin title Dioecesis Aeserniensis-Venafrensis. The seat of the diocese was to be in Isernia, and the cathedral of Isernia was to serve as the cathedral of the merged diocese. The cathedral in Venafro was to become a co-cathedral, and its cathedral Chapter was to be a Capitulum Concathedralis. There was to be only one diocesan Tribunal, in Isernia, and likewise one seminary, one College of Consultors, and one Priests' Council. The territory of the new diocese was to include the territory of the suppressed diocese of Venafro.Acta Apostolicae Sedis 79 (Città del Vaticano 1987), pp. 625-628.
Bishops Diocese of Isernia to 1379
... [Anonymous] (d. 847)A bishop of Isernia, whose name is not preserved, died in the earthquake of 847. Cappelletti XX, p. 156. Leo Marsicanus, "Chronicon Casinense" I. 28, in: Monumenta Germaniae Historica Scriptorum Tomus VII, pp. 600-601. ... Odelgarius (attested 877)Bishop Odelgarius attended the Council of Ravenna of Pope John VIII in November 877, and subscribed the official letter. J.D. Mansi (ed.), Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, editio novissima, Tomus XVII (Venice: A. Zatta 1772), p. 342. Cappelletti XX, p. 156. ... [Anonymous] (attested 943)Kehr VIII, p. 242: "Primus quem novimus episcopus occurrit in quadam charta a. 943, cuius autographum in archive capituli adhuc servatur." [Landus (Lando)] [(946)]Ughelli VI, p. 593, no. 6, citing the "Chronicon Casinense". The passage he quotes, however, refers to the earthquake of 847, and makes no mention of "Landus". Cappelletti XX, p. 156, translates Ughelli, but leaves out the erroneous quotation. ... Ardericus (attested 964–975)Ardericus: Cappelletti XX, pp. 156-157. ...